New state laws for drugs, sex offenders and scammers

by Hungry Horse News
| September 27, 2013 8:28 AM

Several new laws passed by the 2013 Montana Legislature will go into effect Oct. 1. The public safety laws had overwhelming bi-partisan support and were a priority of Montana Attorney General Tim Fox.

• House Bill 168 established a 5 microgram per milliliter limit for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in DUI cases for illegal users of marijuana. THC is the physiologically active component in marijuana. The standard was already in place for medical marijuana cardholders.

• House Bill 140 bans synthetic drugs that mimic dangerous, illegal drugs but which had not been designated as unlawful. This includes “bath salts” or “Spice.”

• Senate Bill 213 requires sex offenders who move into Montana from out of state to provide a DNA sample to the Montana Crime Lab. Montana has been one of only four states in the U.S. lacking such a requirement. The requuirement is in addition to registering as a sexual or violent offender.

• House Bill 335 allows a district judge to designate a tier level to sex offenders who lack one. Most sex offenders in Montana were not assigned a tier level because their sentence predated the tier system, they did not receive one at sentencing, or they came from a state with a different tier system. An offender’s tier level determines how often they must report to authorities.

• House Bill 74 requires disclosure of child abuse to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to also be disclosed to law enforcement in all cases. This would allow information to be disseminated quickly between social services and law enforcement in cases of suspicious child deaths, suspected child sexual assaults and other circumstances.

• Senate Bill 198 increases the maximum penalty to 20 years in prison for someone who assaults a child 36 months or younger. If the abuse causes serious bodily injury, the penalty can rise to 40 years.

• House Bill 287 imposes stiffer consumer protection penalties for individuals or scammers who target the elderly or mentally disabled.